BOCA RATON, FL – The FGCU swimming and diving team (3-5) concluded its meet across Alligator Alley in Boca Friday evening, falling to Princeton (2-0) 170-129 before bouncing back against FAU (3-3) with a 185-115 victory.
Originally scheduled to start at 3:30, the meet began at 4:15 due to a weather delay.
"We faced a lot of adversity today through weather delays, meet delays and logistical issues all outside of our control," said assistant coach
Melissa Steele. "Our ladies did a great job of keeping the focus on each other and what we wanted to accomplish. I'm really proud of the way we cheered, raced and took care of the little things. I'm looking forward to seeing how everything comes together at the Georgia Tech Invitational in two weeks."
Head coach
Dave Rollins was not able to be in attendance due to the passing of a relative.
The Eagles were on a roll through the first three events of the meet after finishing second in the 200 medley relay as
Elizabeth Zeiger (Cumberland, R.I./Homeschool) (1650 free) and
Hannah Burdge (Stuart, Fla./Martin County HS) (200 free) placed second and third in their respective events. Zeiger's time would prove to be a season-best mark. In the 100 breast,
Petra Halmai's(Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Kornel Secondari Grammar School) time of 1:04.97 was good for second overall as FGCU's first of six first-place finishes would start to build, beginning with the 200 fly.
In that event,
Christina Kaas Elmgreen (Charlottenlund, Denmark/Ordrup Gymnasium) touched the pads in 2:02.27 to take the title – a season-best time.
Gracie Redding (Orlando, Fla./The First Academy/FSU) snagged another first-place finish in the 50 free with a swim of 23.59. Burdge would place third with a time of 24.11. Meanwhile,
Rebecca Moynihan (Palmerston North, New Zealand/Waiopehu College) snagged the 100 free crown as she kicked to a time 51.75. Halmai gave the Green and Blue's fourth top finish in the 100 breast (2:20.32) as
Megan Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Centennial CVI) scored a season-high mark of 293.65 on the 3-meter dive for first with
Melissa Novak (Frederick, Md./Oakdale HS) placing second (276.10).
FGCU's final top finish would come in the 200 free relay. The team of Moynihan,
Wiktoria Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland./Liceum nr 10 w Lublinie), Redding and Burdge combined for a time of 1:35.81 to finish two seconds ahead of Princeton and nearly five seconds ahead of the hosts.
All said the Eagles capped off the meet placing swimmers and divers in the top-5 of each event on 14 occasions.
UP NEXT
FGCU will be back in action at the Georgia Tech Invitational on Thursday, Nov. 15 through Saturday, Nov. 17.
FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-date coverage of FGCU women's swimming and diving, follow us on Twitter @FGCU_WSWIM and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available.
HEAD COACH DAVE ROLLINS
Entering into his third season, head coach, Dave Rollins is only the second head coach in program history, taking over on Sept. 1, 2016. In his second season, Rollins guided FGCU to back-to-back CCSA titles, as well as the program's fourth-straight and ninth championship in 10 years. In addition, he has been awarded CCSA Coach of the Year in each of his two seasons at the helm. Previously, Rollins was the associate head men's swimming coach at The Ohio State University. Rollins brings over a decade of coaching experience to The Nest, which includes Olympians, NCAA Champions and All-Americans along with multiple conference champions. A standout collegiate athlete in his own right, Rollins was inducted into the University of Arizona's Hall of Fame in 2017 as a nine-time NCAA All-American, national champion, school record holder and team captain.
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help.
